Crafting a camera with a large sensor and bright lens into something that fits into a pocket isn’t an easy feat – which is one of the reasons why the Ricoh GR III remains popular even more than five years after its initial launch. But a newly published patent application has stirred up speculation on what’s next for the Ricoh GR series.
Ricoh filed the Japanese patent P2025069515 back in 2023, but the documentation was only published earlier this month. The patent is for a new lens design that helps maintain both a wider aperture and angle while keeping the lens small and light.
Beyond the size creating a more portable system, the patent notes that a smaller, lighter lens is beneficial for autofocus. Lighter optics tend to be easier for the autofocus motor to move.
But not all the lens elements in the patented design move. The documentation details a lens that has a third lens group that remains static, leaving the autofocus to move the first and second lens groups. That third group would also have an aspherical element designed to help prevent chromatic aberration.
The invention, the patent details, would also make it easier to get the mold just right during manufacture to suppress unwanted image flaws.
The patent lists multiple items in the invention's name, which reads “Imaging lens, interchangeable lens, imaging device, and information processing device.” While interchangeable lens is listed, the list of multiple potential device types has caused speculation that the patent application could refer to compact cameras like the GR III.
Looking at the patent drawings and examples supports the speculation that such a technology could be headed for Ricoh’s next round of compact cameras. The Ricoh GR III (and its sibling, the GR III HDF) uses an 18.3mm lens with an f/2.8 aperture, and one of the patent examples details an 18.35mm f/2.87 lens using the new design.
The Ricoh GR III uses six lens elements in four groups. The patent describes a lens with three groups and seven elements, so it has more pieces but in fewer groups.
The patent focuses on advantages in focusing, detailing how lighter, smaller lenses are beneficial for autofocus – and it’s the repeated mention of this that has me intrigued.
The Ricoh GR III is one of the most pocketable cameras that still offers an APS-C sensor, but the autofocus speed is starting to show its age. A boost in performance would be an excellent update in any successors.
As with all patents, however, not every invention makes it to store shelves. At best, the patent application offers a glimpse into some of the ideas from Ricoh’s camera designers. A lens that can focus fast while still being small is one change that I hope to see arrive in the GR series.
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